Most Fundamental Aspects of Advertising - Term Paper Example

One of the most fundamental aspects of advertising is the ability to convince s to buy products even though they might not need the said product. It is the art of seducing a customer to leave all alternative products and concentrate or focus on the product, which a company has to offer. While this may be a fact of advertising, there are instances where adverts either tend to intentionally or unintentionally, make wrong assumptions to the customer in order to get the said customer’s attention to a certain product. Among the most elementary of these is the fact that companies may use images that the targeted customers love and use it as a focus for their products. These companies, while advertising, will use every term or means possible to portray the image that a consumer loves as being of lesser value than their product. It can be argued that most adverts aim at the destruction of the image of all other activities that individuals may be involved in and instead work towards the promotion of only those activities that are related to their product. As a result, it can be argued that cheating the customer for promoting a product is part of advertising and the morality, or lack of it, behind the adverts the basis upon which they are founded. Therefore, most adverts, no matter their nature, rarely hold any truth to what they are saying, since they often aim at making the customers believe that the product will fulfill their desires, when in reality, these product do not have that ability. The advertising of products, especially those from internationally recognized brands, is not only done at a local level, the advertising campaigns are also done at a regional, national, and international level. This is often considered the best way to ensure that the advert reaches a wider audience than it would normally have if the campaign were done at only the local level. It can be argued that the professionalism of the advertising company is often brought into question during such campaigns, because despite there being a code of conduct specifying how companies should conduct business, the adverts often create images for their customers which are not based on reality. It can be further argued that the fact that many of the adverts often convince their customers to select their products and shun others of the same quality is a stark example of how these adverts cheat their potential customers. It can be said that adverts are more often than not aimed at ensuring that a company’s products are able to compete effectively against other companies attempting to market similar products and in fact, these adverts are perhaps what can be used to provide an edge against rival products. An argument can be made that companies are more interested in making as many sales as possible in their target markets and are not at all interested in the wellbeing of their customers (Baker 1213). This is the reason why they will do anything; even make false promises to their customers concerning their products, when advertising, in order to persuade them to purchase them. The main objective that can be made concerning the advertising of products is that it is aimed at ensuring that the sales of the said products are maximized. All manner of images and senses are used to ensure that this aim becomes a reality, meaning that companies will more often than not create products, not because they have the best interests of the customer at heart, but because they wish to increase their sales. Such tactics are more often than not psychological, because the actual product may not meet the standards which are mentioned I the advert. It can be argued that companies often weave dreams for their customers and not their reality since they often go to the extent of making promises to the consumer about the product being able to fulfill their dreams and aspirations. Some of the most successful companies rely on advertising and their ability to convince their customers, through their adverts, that their products are the best in the market. The success of a company’s advert is often reflected in the sales levels of its competitors in the business, and they use this to show the top quality of products that it manufactures. The advertising of products is often done using all the media available, both visual and print, to ensure that a much wider audience is reached than anticipated. This is done to guarantee the success of the product within the market for a long time since most of the advertising strategies adopted are often those than retain the image of the product for long durations. This means that the prospective customers are bombarded by adverts wherever they go to the extent that they are psychologically conditioned to buy the product (Beltramini 216). Moreover, it can be argued that among the best means through which a product can be advertised is online since there are billions of users of the internet who are a ready audience. The fallacies and lack of morality in advertising often become known when products are advertised online because on the internet, anything can be done to enhance their value (Evans 38). Since the internet is a leading tool for advertising, this is where most companies and other institutions go to when they need to acquire products for the use of their clients. Advertising online gives many of the people who view such adverts the sense that they are staying up to date with the current product so that they are able to get the best out of it. This is often not the case since most of the adverts tend to make people believe that what they are being shown is the best product in the market and this makes them ignore those products that are perhaps of better quality. While the argument can be made that adverts are now based on the customer’s needs, it should also be noted that they still serve the same function, namely increasing sales. Works Cited Baker, Laura E. "Public Sites Versus Public Sights: The Progressive Response to Outdoor Advertising and the Commercialization of Public Space." American Quarterly 59.4 (2007): 1187, 1213, 1303. Beltramini, Richard F. "Advertising Ethics: The Ultimate Oxymoron?" Journal of Business Ethics 48.3 (2003): 215-6. Evans, David S. "The Online Advertising Industry: Economics, Evolution, and Privacy." The Journal of Economic Perspectives23.3 (2009): 37-60. Read More